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A Not for Profit fundraiser has developed an app designed to empower people subjected to bullying in the workplace – based on her own experience.

Fundraising expert Bronwyn Lewis says she knows what it’s like to feel bullied.

And the experience inspired her to develop the Bully Buster App which allows users to document incidents and witnesses for future reference.

“It’s an experience that can leave you questioning yourself and feeling humiliated,” Lewis said.
“It can also prompt rash responses which may have significant professional and financial consequences."

Lewis said she was so keen to get away from her bully that she moved states on the promise of a new job, which then failed to work out.

“I came back to Victoria and almost immediately felt stranded. I didn’t have a job and I had no redress against the bully.”

Lewis said that not standing up against a bully early can create irreparable damage and that to successfully take action against a bully you need to document every episode of belittling, abuse and rudeness accurately and, as soon as possible after the incident.

“It helps employees document their case and it is also ideal for teenagers who are tech savvy but, let’s face it, often not very good at expressing their feelings to their parents or teachers.

“It also helps observers of schoolyard bullying to take action, enabling them to email a teacher when they are witnessing an incident,” she said.

Lewis says she spent recent years working in Western Australia, where she identified an inequity in the State’s fundraising legislation that affected Not for Profit organisations and successfully lobbied government for its amendment.

“I thought of myself as an educated, articulate woman – last year I was one of 900 people in Oxford, England, who attended the Skoll World Forum for Social Entrepreneurs addressed by former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown – and I have had a varied and interesting career in the government and Not for Profit sector," she said.

“However, talking to other victims of corporate bullies I soon learned that bullying can occur at every level of the workforce and that its personal toll can be devastating.

“It was the realisation that bullying is so widespread that made me think about creating the Bully Buster app.”

How the app works:
Once the app is uploaded the user can put in any contacts they will need to notify; teacher, HR Manager, Lawyer or family member. When an incident happens you can record time, date, who was there, what happened and how you felt. Users then can store the information for later or send the information to an appropriate person.

It is currently only available for iPhone with iOS version 5 or above for $1.99

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